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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The water is too ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. bore — to drill
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. cold — an illness
  6. stand — to bear
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. last — to go on
  12. bore — to tire
  13. season — in sport
  14. lean — to bend
  15. season — of the year
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. last — finally
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pound — a weight
  20. last — final
  21. lean — thin
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. cold — not warm

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com